The guys just don’t learn, and I love them for it- with no spells left (almost), and the only healing they have being a clutch of potions the decision is made to take a short rest (after further investigations) and then head off into action again. The action turns out to be very nasty (briefly), straight after the guys flee for the surface- bloody and mostly broken.

There’s no shame in the extended rest, these guys are however the heroes of the hour.

Go here (actually just over there, to the right) for the PLOT page, this is the place that records all the events and info that has been accumulated regarding a variety of plot (maybe) points. Updated weekly- from now.

Also each week the guys will be summarising, deleting, joining together, or else adding to this list.

Oh, and yes there’s plenty going on but that’s because we’re at the start (still-ish), there’s a lot more to come which may bring some of these points together, and some of this info is just, well… info, not really plot at all.

The summaries are going to help a lot (I hope), as the guys are doing them, they will also give me the opportunity to see what they are thinking…

1) Recap in Brief.

In (very) short- descend into the Bronzehammer ruins, find Sir Gustav and his colleagues (all but one deceased)- the beaten Paladin is rescued from a bunch of stone masked bad guys (Stone Fist Monks, Stone Guards, and a Stone Knight mounted on a Bulette), also present is Kal’Zerth (the Drow), although all his little helpers are killed in the fight.

Kal’Zerth- remember him?

One of Sir Gustav’s groupies, Rowan (Sir Gustav’s intended) was chased off by a Wraith, and was separated from the group, Sir Gustav is desperate to find his bride to be- he offers the guys hard cash money for their help.

The finale (the big fight) takes place in a huge cavern in the centre of which is an ancient Bronzehammer obelisk/device- the massive stone (ten or so feet tall) rotates rapidly (in the air) and sends out regular blasts of sonic power, that is until Zalt manages to turn it off.

The guys have more questions, after first listening to Kal’Zerth and Sir Gustav tell their stories- the Paladin was down here looking for the entrance to the Halls of the Hunting Axe (an ancient Dwarven (Bronzehammer) tomb said to contain fantastical treasures), while the Drow were in search of whatever was making terrible noises in the Underdark (the Bronzehammer obelisk). The two groups ran into each other- and then seconds later the Stone Fist Monks only moments before the guys arrived on the scene.

2) Investigations Continue.

After a week off (I was poorly) the guys spend 10-20 minutes more chatting with Sir Gustav and Kal’Zerth about events down here in the Underdark. Kal’Zerth as it turns out, also has questions of his own- like what the hell is going on.

The point of contention is the fact that the Stone Knight, leader of the bad guys last session, was after Sir Gustav- although he then contradicted himself and called Sir Gustav ‘Grimm’. After a fair bit of chatter the guys are of the opinion that their Grimm (Paladin of Tymora) was actually the Stone Knight’s target; basically two groups of adventurers (both lead by a Paladin- the PC fight starts now) headed from Womford to here. The bad guys selected the wrong group to follow… maybe.

More chatter follows regarding the above, the guys catalogue their crimes against the bad people- Zalt and Ken Lee are beginning to wonder if they are missing something- perhaps something they did back in back in Phandelin. Mess with the Red Wizards perhaps, Ken Lee’s suggestion; or else Zalt worries that his magical ring ‘Torg’ which allows him to control Wodger (and is obviously a Bronzehammer device) is the reason for the attacks.

Wodger- Zalt’s BF.

Someone (very probably) is after them.

Next up is Ken Lee and Zalt with an Identify spell on the Bronzehammer obelisk device-

Over the course of the next hour or so, and while Ken and Zalt meditate and examine the device, the Wizard shares his vision of the Bronzehammer device in action back in the day. In short the device is a battery (a power supply, and very probably at full capacity), Ken Lee witnesses in his mind’s eye a host of chanting Bronzehammer Dwarves taking part in some ancient ceremony, with one heavily armoured floating Dwarf collecting energy from the spinning obelisk and forming the raw power into twinkling balls of light, which float above the obelisk.

When the guys first entered the chamber the air above the spinning obelisk was filled with hundreds of these balls of energy, when the device was turned off the balls of light disappeared.

Ken Lee, as above, is certain that this great battery turned itself on due to some recent event or environmental factor- in short something happened to trigger it, the last blast of the device (which almost killed the guys) was just a test run. Basically the thing is limbering up, but for what…

More chatter follows, although there’s little else to add to the sum of the guy’s knowledge- it’s a mystery (perhaps more than one).

The decision is however to go on- Rowan, Sir Gustav’s beloved needs rescuing (and the Paladin of Waukeen is paying), the guys are also determined to do the right thing. They also have the advantage of Kal’Zerth in their ranks (the Drow wants to stick with the guys for a while, he has no other friends). The Union find a way back up and into the Bronzehammer ruins, and then over the next four or so hours they make their way all the way back up to the very first level of the dungeon, stopping off along the way to recover as many of the bodies of the fallen adventurers as they can (Sir Gustav’s party). That’s what a Bag of Holding is for, isn’t it?

3) Undead End!

They Union back to the chamber in which Rowan was first separated from her colleagues (and her true love), and then trace the Elf’s tracks further into the ruins- she was fleeing the Wraith remember, all the way to yet another ruined great pillared chamber.

Moments later out of the shadows lurch a bunch of Dwarven Zombies, easy work for the guys…

The Zombies are tough (they’re Dwarves) but not really a match for the Union- too easy, that is until huge glistening ooze like tentacles begin to emerge from the chest cavities of the downed Zombies. The tentacles each end in a single glistening eye and a puckered hoisted into the air by two of the Dark Tentacles, the adventurers are also being crushed and Necrotised- bugger.

Not exactly the image, but you get it- right?

Moments later and there are three of the Dark Tentacles in action, and the guys are screaming for everyone to stop attacking (and killing) the Dwarven Zombies- the order is to contain them somehow. Zyler obliges, after first escaping the Dark Tentacle that had him Grabbed- he Turns Undead and blasts all of the remaining Zombies- destroying five of them in an instant, bodies destroyed no more Dark Tentacles emerge.

Zyler meanwhile has also taken a beating (yes, the guy with AC 21), Lord Thaelond has also sustained some hits, and Zalt’s dice are broken- over the course of the next hour 80% of his D20 rolls are below ‘5’, he misses often.

I try to encourage the Warlock to shout ‘Tempus!’ every time this happens, it’s kinda a tradition that Zyler started, Simon (who plays Zalt) is disinclined to oblige me.

At which point the Shadow Skull turns up- Zyler spots it and screams just before it attempts to blast him with its Necrotic rays…

There follows a complicated game of cat and mouse while all of the guys (and Kal’Zerth, and Sir Gustav) attempt to chase down the Skull while avoiding the Dark Tentacles (or killing them), it helps that Zyler has ‘Turned’ two of the aforementioned Tentacular fiends.

Eventually the Shadow Skull is blasted out of the sky, although several more of the guys have taken hits.

Obviously if the Union had beaten down all eight Dwarf Zombies they would have unleashed all eight Dark Tentacles- that would have been something to see. Good call with the Turn Undead, I can’t remember the last time Zyler used the power.

Time to flee, the guys are busted- it takes another four hours of scrambling and searching but, eventually, the guys make it back to the surface…

4) To the Surface, and then Back into the Depths.

Winter has arrived.

Out of the Bronzehammer ruins the world has turned white, the snow is lashing down and the temperature is below freezing, in other words the weather is perfectly normal for the Dessarin Valley and the month of Hammer; the weather is back. This fact makes the guys smile- perhaps they are doing some good?

It’s too cold outside to camp, the adventurers retreat a little way into the ruins and camp the night (after setting guards and taking precautions), time for an extended rest- Lord Thaelond, or as he really is- Goren, is now Level 7. The Union and their NPC friends are now all much healthier, and miracle upon miracle they have access to spells again.

After a hearty breakfast the guys (except for Kal’Zerth who opts out of the venture) descend again into the depths, back to the chamber in which they fought the Dark Tentacles and Shadow Skull, it takes another four hours to get back to this spot, safely.

The Union continues on, again tracking Rowan through the Bronzehammer ruins, all the way to a section of the complex that looks to be in much better repair, the way ahead is barred by a massive portcullis- the device seems to be in good working order.

The guys are of the opinion that this is the lair of a Necromancer- hence all the bad ass undead, regardless they are here to kick butt and rescue Rowan. The urgency of the situation is magnified when the several members of the group hear a scream from somewhere ahead- Sir Gustav identifies it has being Rowan, his beloved. The Paladin of Waukeen has to be calmed, as Zalt points out- “at least you know she’s alive still… just”, states the Warlock helpfully.

The heavy mob shuffle to the front and on their third attempt manage to wrench free the portcullis, breaking the mechanism thoroughly in the process (‘20’), the device cannot be closed behind them. Ahead is what looks to be a Dwarven Temple, in better repair, although…

5) Into the Temple of the Eye.

Lord T is sent sneaking in, Zyler (the platemail wearing Priest) decides to try the same approach- remarkably the Priest of War is the more stealthy of the two (LT comes up with a ‘1’), the Rogue trips and sprawls on the stairs up to a shrine (the first opening on the west). The shrine is inhabited by a pair of Skeleton Dwarf Guards, the undead are clad in the remnants of platemail.

At the same moment Zyler creeping ahead, down the centre of what is obviously an ancient Bronzehammer temple, spots that the two statues of heroic looking Dwarves (each fifteen feet tall) are both covered in crude drawings of a variety of lidless eyes. The guys have seen the eye symbol a lot on their journeys.

The Priest continues to scan the walls of the chamber- there are crude depictions of ‘the eye’ everywhere, Zyler hears a noise- half-a-dozen Lemure’s, Devils made of molten flesh, squeeze their way out of a variety of concealed openings in both statues.

The Priest of War screams for assistance as the enemies close, it gets to fighting.

Zalt cleverly orders Wodger to plug the passage to the east, bottling in another two Skeleton Dwarf Guards- in the meantime however four Zombie Dwarf Guards (likewise clad in the remnants of platemail) stomp down from the northern section and start lashing out.

For the most part the guys have the fracas contained, particularly as Zyler unleashes his Spirit Guardians while Ken Lee lets loose with a couple of Shatter spells (this place is marvellously well made, it can take the hits), however things get a little worse when the Spined Devil and then the Imp make themselves known.

The Spined Devil makes surprise appearances, staying up high- the chamber is over thirty feet tall, it pops out of hiding to swear at the guys in Infernal and then shoot its fiery spines at them- Grimm starts taking hits.

The Imp proves to be a one-shot, it remains invisible throughout the fracas, keeping out of the way of Zyler’s Spirit Guardians, it’s only when the Priest of Tempus makes his way forward that the little Devil can take his shot. The Imp flashes down into the entrance way to the chamber, in which Lord Thaelond hides and shoots arrow after arrow, the Devil stabs its stinger in the Rogue’s chest- hurts him but not enough, it flutters away but cannot get far enough. Seconds later courtesy of an Eldritch Blast from Zalt, and fittingly an arrow from Lord T, the creature is shot down.

The fight rumbles on- the Zombies and Skeletons are tough (and harder to hit), it’s a grind; the Spined Devil finally retreating as the last of the shambling undead falls.

New Info- Investigate the massive Bronzehammer stone obelisk that unleashes bursts of sonic terror, it’s a battery- of sorts. More chatter with Sir Gustav and Kal’Zerth- then on to rescue the Paladin of Waukeen’s intended- Rowan. En route take a beating from a bunch of Zombie Dwarves, each host to a Dark Tentacle, also harried by a Shadow Skull; victory but at a price- flee to the surface. It’s snowing- winter is here; rest- and then back down again. Into an ancient Bronzehammer Temple, desecrated with signs of ‘the eye’, kill more undead while being hassled by Devils, Rowan is still alive- you can hear her screaming. Next time- ONWARDS!